Topsteptrader.com and Fraudster Mike Patak Mike Patak and www.topsteptrader.com are a fraud and I do not know why the NFA or CFTC has not caught up to this company. The 'combine' is a joke, they get you to pay them and you use the Rithmic sim. I successfully took to course and got a funded and then, despite being profitable I made one small mistake and they cut me off and told me I had to sign up again. This company prays on young people looking to get into trading and all the positive reviews are fake.
My brother was a trader in the S&P pit and knew a few Dow brokers and they said Patak could not make a penny in the pit. When I spoke to Mike he agreed that I was a good trader but than said my account had been canceled and that I had to pay again and redo the course.
After sucessfully redoing the cource again ( an made money on the sim) they would not refund the account. I am not in the process of copying all my emails and copying the debit card charges and sening letters to the NFA and the CFTC. After dealing with three funding companies topsteptrader is the worst of them all.
I thought they were legit. However, after investing in several combines and successfully completing a combine they flagged my account to be ineligible for funding.
Now they say that I have to pay for another combine. It was due to the way they report your status. Very confusing.
I did not believe this at first but now I feel that they are just looking to get the combine fees from people.
The worst part it that the support staff only want to keep collecting the combine fees. You will spend hundreds if not thousands trying to navigate with their confusing reportng system.
This is a FEE based internet FUTURES trading contest kind of scam which assures to open a LIVE funded account if you make a specified amount of money trading on a Simulated Trading account. Its called COMBINE.
Most are scammed in a never ending LOOP. Even if they manage to pass the test they soon end up doing the COMBINE again as the room to trade is very tight and impossible for most dreamers if they trigger some losses in their accounts.
TIMELINE of the tricks they played with me ….beamerUSA
NOV 4th COMBINE started 100K
+1354.13
NOV 6th COMBINE deleted
Say a Complimentary Combine has been given
Which is of 50K……and say cannot credit the already gained +1,354.13
With lot of hassle KEVIN puts back my old COMBINE +1K back
I instructed KEVIN to merge the accts as it is difficult switching accts.
And I never wanted the free complimentary COMBINE as I was already up +1,354.13
KEVIN sends email that he has merged the accts……LIAR
He never did what he said in emails…
Traders got to pursue emails or concentrate on trading?
Then I make +6000 reaching the target for a LIVE FUNDED ACCT in under 10 days.
Then suddenly on Friday NOV 18th the ACCT is DELETED
When asked why they say the acct was not paid for…..
Whereas no COMBINE starts without being PAID for by CC
Then they ask to send the proof of payment.
I sent it …..
Monday they say they have refunded my fees and I am banned from the Program
ERIN says Your actions this morning on Squawk Radio Chat and through email have forced us to enforce this ban from doing business with TopstepTrader.
I have not logged in the useless Squawk Radio since a MONTH…. ! Liars
This whole situation I suspect was initiated by the Squawk Radio operator and ERIN where I had suggested to talk about Critical EIA reports and FOMC meeting which is only for couple of minutes in week. The operator cracks jokes and talk immaterial things when in those few minutes the Market moves hundreds of POINTS.
Traders are in Jeopardy if they don’t know what is going on in those few minutes. And he did not like my suggestions as he has to work diff for those few minutes and keep track of the announcements.
Rampant False advertisement wherein they show new traders Funded every month but they are not.
They are the old Funded traders who constantly go back to Combine pay fees again and go LIVE for few more days or weeks. That is the design of TST. It’s a scam
I was not going to go into that cycle as my results of wins were very high and I would stay there and I wouldn’t be a Cash Cow for them.
Also the tax rate for FUTURES traders is 23%, but they send a 1099 which hikes the tax to nearly 38% + their 20% cut which comes to total 58%....... who would be so dumb not to know the diff between 58 and 23 ? Not me and I was vocal about it in the chat room….this is another reason for them to Breach my Contract.
By the way I have also WON a third Prize @ TST in a CONTEST against hundreds of traders trading FUTURES.
A few years ago I got into the Combine with the hopes of trading live money. On my last combine I had a profit of $3,000 with about 5 days to go. My daily average was not going to meet the $5,000 objective. I got pretty agressive and went on all in days. My stops were put in right under the $1,000 daily limit. One day the stop got a "simulated" fill that put me $5-15 over the daily loss limit. On the last day I met the $5,000 profit objective getting short the Ultra Bond Market. TST found reasons to not to fund me with real money.
TST seriously altered my swing/overnight trading style. TST overemphasizes meaningless statistics like winning %, ratios, etc. At the end of the day all that matters is the +/-. TST is great for people that wish to try out trade theories, undercapitalized or without any prior experience. IF you are capable of funding yourself and making it work TST is the not best opportunity. TST has a cornucopia of self-imposed limitations.
Fortunately I was able to find a proper trading mentor who has helped me walk away from TST in every sense.
Hey I've been looking many reviews and saw you had a bad experience. You said you found a mentor I'm looking and so are many others that been scammed. If possible you contact me in regard to a trading mentor thanks!!
TopStepTrader Reviews
Topsteptrader.com and Fraudster Mike Patak Mike Patak and www.topsteptrader.com are a fraud and I do not know why the NFA or CFTC has not caught up to this company. The 'combine' is a joke, they get you to pay them and you use the Rithmic sim. I successfully took to course and got a funded and then, despite being profitable I made one small mistake and they cut me off and told me I had to sign up again. This company prays on young people looking to get into trading and all the positive reviews are fake.
My brother was a trader in the S&P pit and knew a few Dow brokers and they said Patak could not make a penny in the pit. When I spoke to Mike he agreed that I was a good trader but than said my account had been canceled and that I had to pay again and redo the course.
After sucessfully redoing the cource again ( an made money on the sim) they would not refund the account. I am not in the process of copying all my emails and copying the debit card charges and sening letters to the NFA and the CFTC. After dealing with three funding companies topsteptrader is the worst of them all.
I thought they were legit. However, after investing in several combines and successfully completing a combine they flagged my account to be ineligible for funding.
Now they say that I have to pay for another combine. It was due to the way they report your status. Very confusing.
I did not believe this at first but now I feel that they are just looking to get the combine fees from people.
The worst part it that the support staff only want to keep collecting the combine fees. You will spend hundreds if not thousands trying to navigate with their confusing reportng system.
Stay away from them. seems to be much better.
Gary
This is a FEE based internet FUTURES trading contest kind of scam which assures to open a LIVE funded account if you make a specified amount of money trading on a Simulated Trading account. Its called COMBINE.
Most are scammed in a never ending LOOP. Even if they manage to pass the test they soon end up doing the COMBINE again as the room to trade is very tight and impossible for most dreamers if they trigger some losses in their accounts.
TIMELINE of the tricks they played with me ….beamerUSA
NOV 4th COMBINE started 100K
+1354.13
NOV 6th COMBINE deleted
Say a Complimentary Combine has been given
Which is of 50K……and say cannot credit the already gained +1,354.13
With lot of hassle KEVIN puts back my old COMBINE +1K back
I instructed KEVIN to merge the accts as it is difficult switching accts.
And I never wanted the free complimentary COMBINE as I was already up +1,354.13
KEVIN sends email that he has merged the accts……LIAR
He never did what he said in emails…
Traders got to pursue emails or concentrate on trading?
Then I make +6000 reaching the target for a LIVE FUNDED ACCT in under 10 days.
Then suddenly on Friday NOV 18th the ACCT is DELETED
When asked why they say the acct was not paid for…..
Whereas no COMBINE starts without being PAID for by CC
Then they ask to send the proof of payment.
I sent it …..
Monday they say they have refunded my fees and I am banned from the Program
ERIN says Your actions this morning on Squawk Radio Chat and through email have forced us to enforce this ban from doing business with TopstepTrader.
I have not logged in the useless Squawk Radio since a MONTH…. ! Liars
This whole situation I suspect was initiated by the Squawk Radio operator and ERIN where I had suggested to talk about Critical EIA reports and FOMC meeting which is only for couple of minutes in week. The operator cracks jokes and talk immaterial things when in those few minutes the Market moves hundreds of POINTS.
Traders are in Jeopardy if they don’t know what is going on in those few minutes. And he did not like my suggestions as he has to work diff for those few minutes and keep track of the announcements.
Rampant False advertisement wherein they show new traders Funded every month but they are not.
They are the old Funded traders who constantly go back to Combine pay fees again and go LIVE for few more days or weeks. That is the design of TST. It’s a scam
I was not going to go into that cycle as my results of wins were very high and I would stay there and I wouldn’t be a Cash Cow for them.
Also the tax rate for FUTURES traders is 23%, but they send a 1099 which hikes the tax to nearly 38% + their 20% cut which comes to total 58%....... who would be so dumb not to know the diff between 58 and 23 ? Not me and I was vocal about it in the chat room….this is another reason for them to Breach my Contract.
By the way I have also WON a third Prize @ TST in a CONTEST against hundreds of traders trading FUTURES.
Every move is documented in chains of emails.
BREACH of CONTRACT by TopStepTrader.com
A few years ago I got into the Combine with the hopes of trading live money. On my last combine I had a profit of $3,000 with about 5 days to go. My daily average was not going to meet the $5,000 objective. I got pretty agressive and went on all in days. My stops were put in right under the $1,000 daily limit. One day the stop got a "simulated" fill that put me $5-15 over the daily loss limit. On the last day I met the $5,000 profit objective getting short the Ultra Bond Market. TST found reasons to not to fund me with real money.
TST seriously altered my swing/overnight trading style. TST overemphasizes meaningless statistics like winning %, ratios, etc. At the end of the day all that matters is the +/-. TST is great for people that wish to try out trade theories, undercapitalized or without any prior experience. IF you are capable of funding yourself and making it work TST is the not best opportunity. TST has a cornucopia of self-imposed limitations.
Fortunately I was able to find a proper trading mentor who has helped me walk away from TST in every sense.
Top step trader
Hey I've been looking many reviews and saw you had a bad experience. You said you found a mentor I'm looking and so are many others that been scammed. If possible you contact me in regard to a trading mentor thanks!!